


The Room

by Liza_Taylor



Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Minor Original Character(s), Priestesses, Sad Ending, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24137758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza_Taylor/pseuds/Liza_Taylor
Summary: Her whole life had been one single room, the only people she sees are the visitors coming to get blessings from her. She was fine with this life, at least until he appears on her doorstep.
Relationships: Archer (Fate/EXTRA)/Kishinami Hakuno
Kudos: 16





	The Room

**Author's Note:**

> An Emiya/Hakuno fic I wrote years ago that I'm crossposting here, with slight differences from the original work.

All she knew was this one single room.

Food and other amenities were brought in by an attendant. The only view of the outside she got was from the brief glimpse of the open door along with a window that overlooked the forest on one wall. It wasn't like the space was uncomfortable though. It was huge. She had enough room to stretch her legs and walk. It was even bigger than some of the houses that the villagers lived in. Or so she was told.

They treated her well enough. She had books of all kinds and wore kimonos made from silk. At least, she thought so based on what the descriptions in the books she read told her how silk would feel. She had running water in her little space so it was not like she wasn't up to date. She didn't have a computer or a phone though. Reading about them in the books, they felt so foreign and magical to her. How could something like that even exist?

She heard the door open and she turned to the doorway to see one of the young maidens of the village come in with a platter of food in hand.

"My Lady, I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier," spoke the young girl. Her head was bent low and her eyes were cast on the ground.

"It's alright." She closed the book she had been reading and got to her feet. Her long kimono layers trailed on the ground as she walked. The girl set the tray of food in front of the curtain that separated the visiting area from her lodgings. The curtain was made in a way that she could see out clearly but no one could see her form clearly at all. She waited until the maiden turned before she pushed the curtain aside to pull the tray towards her before she let the curtain fall back into place.

When the maiden heard the sound of the curtain being put back, she turned and spoke, "There is a traveler in the village. He's coming to see you My Lady."

"Of course," she replied. No one else came to this little village deep in the heart of the mountains unless they were here to see her. "Will the traveler be coming up here soon?"

"Yes My Lady. He is currently having a talk with the village elder but he will be up here soon."

She began eating faster. If it was one thing she didn't like, it was having to sneak bites during an audience with a traveler. She hated having her food be cold.

"Shall I wait for you to finish My Lady?" The maiden peeked out of the door. "I do not see them coming up the path so you have some time."

She was grateful for that. She took a long drink of tea as she almost choked on some rice. She coughed a few times but thankfully the rice went down correctly.

"They are coming up the path My Lady." The maiden turned her back to the curtain.

She pulled up the curtain and put the tray on the other side. "Thank you. You may leave me now."

"Of course My Lady." The maiden picked up the tray and bowed before slipping out into the sunlight.

She settled down on the cushion near the curtain and arranged her long kimono layers around her so they would not hamper her too much. She ran her fingers through her incredibly long brown hair and arranged it around her, despite the fact that the person beyond the curtain would be unable to see it. It made her feel better though.

A loud rapping came from the door.

"Come in," she spoke in a clear, strong voice.

The door opened and a young man stepped in. He paused in the doorway and squinted to help his eyes adjust to the darker room. She always took the moment to get a look at her traveler. This one looked much more foreign than what she was used to. He was pretty tall (much taller than her that was for sure). It was hard for her to make out his frame under the coat he was wearing but he looked muscular from her estimate. His skin was tanned, from the sun or born with it, she wasn't sure. His hair was stark white and slicked back. That confused her greatly. He looked young but he had white hair. She hadn't read that happening in any of the books she had read.

"Please, take a seat," she said when he didn't move from the doorway.

The man obeyed and sat on the cushion on his side of the curtain. A young girl entered after him and stood against the wall. Her dark brown eyes watched the man.

The man glanced over at the girl and she saw his brow furrow.

"The girl is mute," she explained. "She is here in case I need something that I would be unable to get on my own."

"What if what I want to discuss is sensitive material?"

She was surprised how deep his voice was. "Anything that is said here is not to be repeated outside. The girl is required to stay."

"She can write though?"

"Of course."

"Then I cannot speak of what I want to."

She nodded. "Understandable. Will you please wait outside?"

The mute girl nodded and left the building. She knew the girl would not be far though. She would slip around the back and listen in to the conversation through one of the tiny openings on the other end of the house.

"Now, what is it you would like to know? You must have traveled very far to make it to me in these mountains."

"Yes, I did have a long journey," he said. She noticed that his eyes were scanning the chambers like he was looking for something. "I have come here for information."

"That's the reason…" She broke off her speech and stared at the man through the curtain in confusion. "You…you aren't here for a blessing?"

"A blessing from you is not what I want. I want to know how you do it."

"How I…do it?"

Who was this man?

The man got to his feet and she felt her heart begin to pound in her chest but she could not figure out why. Why did she feel so uneasy right now?

"Yes, how do you do these blessings?"

"How I…do the blessings?" A cry escaped her mouth as he reached for the curtain. "No! You are not allowed here!"

The man didn't listen and pulled back the curtains. She covered her face with the sleeves of her kimono. "You are not allowed to do that. One must never look upon me!"

"I asked you to tell me how you perform the blessings!" His voice had a trace of anger in it. "Let me see your face."

"N…no. You must not!" What was she going to do? Something like this never happened before! The village elder never told her what to do at a time like this!

The man grabbed her arm and pulled her sleeve away from her face. She kept her eyes downcast in order to not look upon his face.

"You…you're young…"

What? She looked up at him in surprises. He was really close, closer than anyone had been to her in years. And he was touching her on top of everything. His eyes were gray and he was staring at her in confusion. "Please release me," she whispered.

He obeyed. "How…how old are you?"

She rubbed her wrist. The touch of another human felt so strange. "I…I'm not exactly sure but I think I should be in my nineteenth or twentieth year."

"Nineteen or twenty…" he repeated to himself. He looked around the space where she lived in. "Do you actually live here?" What was that look in his eyes? She wasn't sure. It was not sadness, anger or happiness, the emotions she had seen on the faces of many of the travelers that visited her. Then what was it? What was she seeing on his face?

"Please, go back to the visiting area," she whispered.

Recovering from whatever he saw in her room he obeyed and went back to the other side of the curtain and settled back on the cushion. With him out of her personal space, she sighed in relief and moved back to her spot on the curtain on her side.

"I'm sorry for how I acted."

"It…it's alright. It just startled me that's all." She shifted in her seat slightly. Was this a problem? She did not know.

"If it is alright, I want to repeat the question from before. Do you live here?"

"Of course I do," she replied. "If would make no sense for me not to. A priestess must be comfortable in the location she spends the rest of her life does she not?"

"Spends the rest of her…" The man's voice trailed off. Was he thinking of something? "Hang on, have you ever left this room?"

Why was he asking so many questions about her? "I don't see how this relates to…" The way he was staring her through the curtain made her pause. It was like his eyes were staring right at her. "I've been here ever since I was a child," she relented. "I've never left this room."

"What?" The man stared at her. "How?"

"I was the chosen priestess," she explained. "I have to live in here, for my safety and the safety of others. I fear for you though. A priestess is not supposed to be looked upon by mortals. I…I don't know how this will affect you."

"You have got to be kidding me…" he murmured. He got up.

"Are you leaving? But I didn't give you a blessing."

"Don't worry; I'm not leaving for a while. I'll be back," he said before he disappeared out into the sunlight.

A couple of seconds after he left, the mute girl slipped back into the house. Her head was tilted to the side and the priestess read the question in them.

"Keep quiet about what transpired here," she ordered. Despite what had happened, she was curious if he would be coming back and if the mute girl told the village elder, she wasn't sure if he would be allowed to visit her again.

The girl nodded and dipped her head before leaving.

***

The next day he returned. Like the day before, he knocked on the door and waited for her permission before he stepped inside her home.

"I told the village elder that I'm studying the plants in the area and I just wanted to warn you in case you heard me outside to not be afraid." He settled in the visiting cushion on his side of the curtain.

"You lied to the village elder?" Her eyes widen. No one did that! That was why she was grateful when the elder did not come by yesterday asking her how it went with the man.

He shrugged. "Anyway, we got off on the wrong foot yesterday I will say. My name is Shirou."

"Shirou…" she repeated. A name. She had a name to attach to this man.

An uncomfortable silence passed between them. Was he waiting for her to say something?

"What's your name?" he prompted.

"My name?"

"Yes, your name. The villagers all call you 'the priestess' but what's your name?"

She tilted her head to the side even though he would be unable to see it through the curtain. "Name?" She raised one of her robed hands to her mouth to cover the sounds of her giggling. "Shirou, priestesses don't have names."

"You…don't have a name?"

Why was his brow furrowing so? He looked to be angry. Why?

"I mean, I probably did have a name long enough when I was a child. I was born an average villager like everyone else of course."

"What do you mean?"

What was this? Was an outsider genuinely curious about the way the village worked? This was odd for her. Everyone just knew and outsiders didn't care about. All they cared about was getting a blessing and then leaving.

"A girl is chosen to be a priestess when the previous one passes on," she explained. "It's usually better for them to be younger because the child is less corrupt by the world."

"Easier for molding," murmured Shirou.

She pretended not to hear him. Outsiders did not know about the world she was in, the duty she had to the village. "I've been in this room to keep away from the impurities of the outside world. Probably to you I have been missing a lot but I haven't really." She gestured to behind her. Realizing that he would be unable to see it she added, "The villagers bring me books on various subjects so I know a lot about the outside world."

"But that isn't the same," he pointed out. "The world within those books doesn't tell you everything."

"But I must be content with that," she replied. "I am not to leave this room."

He was silent.

She fidgeted back and forth on her cushion. What did this mean? Talking to the villagers were so much easier! They just listened to her and gave her straight responses. That was all. Shirou was…elusive. To her, it felt like he was holding a lot of information back.

He got up and she felt a lump begin to form in her throat. "Are…are you leaving?"

"For now. I will be back tomorrow. I forgot that I need to take care of a few things first."

She sighed in relief. Good. He will be coming back. She paused. Why did it matter that he was coming back? She shook her head. It was just curiosity of the outside world that was all.

***

They soon fell into a rhythm. Shirou would come by in the morning and talk to her about whatever topic she chose. She began pulling books off the shelves and asked him about the stuff within them. How did airplanes work? Was electricity as amazing as the books made it out to be? What did a city really look like? Soon she ended up pulling back the curtain in order to really see his face as he described everything (it was also easier to point out things in the books too).

Afternoons she was left to her own devices. She looked through the books she had in order to come up with the questions to ask for the next day, she didn't want to waste any second with Shirou by not knowing what to talk about. She also sometimes had visitors wanting to receive her blessing, which she, of course, gave willingly.

Surprisingly, the mute girl became a vital aspect to the current arrangement. The girl had ended up taking a bit of a liking to Shirou. She would keep guard and would run in to warn Shirou that the elder was coming for a morning visit. Thankfully, lying to the elder directly had never happened yet. The elder never asked her about Shirou and she was not willing to bring him up as a subject.

"Have you ever wanted to step outside?" Shirou asked her one morning.

"Step outside?" she repeated in confusion.

"I've been talking about the world outside with you for the past couple of weeks. Aren't you at all curious about seeing it yourself?"

Her eyes went to the closed door. See the world out there herself? "Shirou, you know I can't…"

Shirou's brow furrowed. She knew he was annoyed. He always did that when he talked about topics he disliked in the outside world. "I doubt that anything will happen to you."

She shook her head. "Shirou please. Mortals must not look upon me, you know that. In here, it is safe for me to live."

"Obviously nothing has happened to me."

She opened her mouth to retort but no words came to her. Nothing had happened to him. That was why the curtain that separated them was pushed aside. It was easier to talk this way. She looked down at the tatami mats and her fingers played with the hem of her long kimono sleeves.

"Sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Forget it. I shouldn't have suggested something like that."

"No…it's fine…" Her eyes drifted to the books on the shelves behind her. Reading the books was one thing, Shirou telling her about everything was another. It made it more real to her. What would it be like to walk out there?

The door cracked open and the mute girl stuck her head inside. A small smile lit up her little face when she saw the curtain was up.

"Is the village elder coming?" asked Shirou.

She nodded.

Shirou got to his feet.

"W…Wait. About taking me outside…"

"I'll come by tonight. Late at night when everyone is asleep. I won't force you but if you want to go out…"

She nodded. "Thank you Shirou." This would give her some much needed time to think it over. She pulled the curtain down so the areas were separate again as Shirou left her chambers.

***

Like he promised, he was back late at night. She stifled back a yawn as he stood right outside her home, a guard for her. She had on just her juban, the simple white layer she wore underneath all of the kimono layers she usually wore. She knew the world outside was dirty and messy and the silks of her kimonos probably would not fare well.

"You don't have to do this if you aren't ready."

"N…No…I want to." She swallowed as she stood in the open doorway. She could see a winding path leading down the hill. If the trees weren't in the way, she knew she would be able to see the village from here. The moon was full tonight so everything was lit up with heavenly glow.

"Here, I got you these." He held up a pair of wooden sandals, which he dropped next to her feet.

She swallowed. That was right. People needed to wear shoes outside. The ground wasn't as forgiving as the mats of her chamber. She put her feet into the shoes. They just felt so awkward and unnecessary on her feet. How was anyone able to walk with these things?

"Here." Shirou held out his elbow.

She stared at it and gulped. The last time when they had touched, it was during their first meeting and he had attacked her. Now that she thought about it, she had no idea why he did that.

"Is something wrong? If you don't want to do this, you don't have to."

"No…I…I want to." She gritted her teeth and put her hand on his arm to steady herself as she took her first step out of the area she had been living in for years. She stood still for a few seconds. A thunderbolt did not come down and strike her dead. The wind didn't whip at her and push her back inside. In fact, the wind was quite gentle tonight.

"Good thing it's a warm night," he commented.

She could barely hear him as she struggled to take in everything. The world outside was so…big! She had forgotten how big it was! She half-stumbled, half-ran to the grass growing on the side of the road. "Grass. Shirou! It's grass!" She grabbed a couple blades in her hands and relished in the touch. They felt so…weird! "Oh! Leaves! Shirou! There are leaves here. Bark! The trees have rough bark!"

Shirou chuckled as he followed after her. "You're like a kid."

"A kid?" She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him. "Really now? Oh look! A flower!" She almost fell on the flower because of her shoes. She bent down and smelled it. Wow. Wild flowers smelled so different from the flowers that the villagers put in her chambers.

"Hakuno."

"Hmm?" She looked over at Shirou in confusion. "Did you say something?"

"Hakuno," he repeated. "A name for you."

"Hakuno…" She ran the name over her tongue. "My name…I have a name." She grinned. "My name is Hakuno!" She turned back to Shirou. "Thank you Shirou. For giving me a name."

It was his turn to look away from her. "It…it's fine." He coughed. "Anyway, you want to go back inside now? You shouldn't push yourself."

"But, but," she protested. "I haven't been outside for that long!" Her head whipped around as she tried to take in as much of her surroundings as possible.

"Don't worry, the outside is not going anywhere. Take it in baby steps alright?"

She shifted back and forth on her sandaled feet. She wanted to tell him no but he knew more about the world out here than she did. Didn't that mean she had to trust his judgment on this one too?"

"Fine," she sighed. "But we'll do this tomorrow right?"

"If it is not raining then of course."

***

Their days fell into a cycle. In the daytime, Shirou would visit Hakuno in the morning, afternoons were dedicated to granting blessings and at night, Shirou would take Hakuno out. After exploring the area around her home, Shirou had taken her deeper into the forest to show her the wonders of the area. He even carried her to farther away locations so she could see different scenery for the few hours she had outside.

One night, at the end of summer, Hakuno and Shirou were by a small lake that was being fed by a waterfall. She was standing in the water, relishing the feeling of nature's water on her toes. Shirou was sitting on the shore, watching her.

"I'm going to need to move on soon," he said.

Hakuno looked over at him in surprise. "What….you're leaving?"

He looked away uncomfortably. "Yes. I got some information today. I probably need to leave tomorrow if I'm going to be able to do the thing I need to do."

"Oh." Silly her. She had the notion that Shirou would stay here forever to tell her about the world outside. How wrong was that? Shirou had a life outside of the village. How he managed to stay this long without arising suspicion was amazing in her eyes. The people he knew in the outside world probably missed him. Silly her. She forced herself to smile. "Well, I'm sure you have people waiting for you. It will be nice to see them again and go back to city life right?"

"Do you…do you want to come with me?"

Hakuno almost stubbed her toe on one of the rocks at the bottom of the riverbed. "What?"

"I know the life you grew up in, it will be hard but you can't keep living like that. You're locked up in a room for no reason whatsoever. It would be for the best for you leave this place."

Her, leave? She looked down at her hands. "But…I'm the priestess…" she whispered. "I can't leave…" _Am I even a priestess still?_ Did her blessings even work? She was not detached from the outside world anymore. She loved it out here. Could she really return to the world of the room after all this? Her eyes turned to Shirou. "I…" She couldn't get the words out.

The bushes shook as a woman stumbled out into the open. Her eyes fell in Hakuno and then on Shirou and they widen in horror before she turned and ran. For a moment Hakuno wasn't even sure if what happened had just happened. Shirou on the other hand jumped to his feet, curses spewing from his mouth.

Hakuno hurried to the shore, almost tripping a few times on the slippery stones. "Who was that?"

"Someone from the village," replied Shirou.

Hakuno's eyes widen. Oh no. "What…what shall we do?"

"You go back to your home, I'll go down to the village."

"Will you be alright?" What was going to happen to him because of this? Wait, maybe there wouldn't be a problem. It was not like anyone in the village knew what she looked like. They just be fine right?

"Don't worry about me, you just get back to your place alright?" He grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his own as he spoke. "It will be fine."

"If you're sure…" She looked in the direction the woman ran. However, even with that in mind a part of her knew that nothing will be the same from here on out.

***

Hakuno paced back and forth in her chambers. The rom that had once been her whole world was now stifling. Was Shirou alright? What was going to happen to them? She stared at the books that had once comforted her about the world outside. She gritted her teeth and grabbed a couple and threw they against a wall.

"Useless!" she yelled. They were so useless. Nothing in them could tell her what to do right now. They would not tell her if Shirou would be alright. Or what would happen to her. Useless!  
She heard a small rapping by the door and she turned her wild eyes to the sound. Her eyes softened slightly as they focused on the mute village girl. She was staring at Hakuno with wide, shocked eyes.

"Oh. I am sorry for frightening you."

The girl shook her head and pointed outside. When Hakuno didn't move, the girl repeated the gesture.

"Do you want me to go…outside?"

The girl nodded and then pointed to herself.

Hakuno grabbed her sandals and followed the girl out of her chambers. She began walking on the dirt path that led down the hill. To the village. "Are you sure that this is…"

The girl ran over to Hakuno and grabbed her hand and tugged her in the direction of the village. Swallowing, Hakuno followed the girl. The village was smaller than she though. The houses weren't as extravagant but they weren't shabby either. One thing that worried her was that there was no one around and all of the houses were dark.

The mute girl tugged on Hakuno's hand a few times and led her to the only house lit. Instead of going to the front door, she walked around the back to an open window. Hakuno crouched next to the girl and peeked into the window.

It was a large room, a meeting room she assumed. It looked like everyone from the village was there. The village elder was standing at the head position and right in front of him was Shirou.

"You can't keep her locked up like that!" Shirou's voice was rising in anger.

"Of course we can! That's the only way we can be kept safe!" the village elder yelled back.

"She's a girl! She's barely twenty and doesn't know anything about the world outside. You brainwashed her in thinking that a room is all she needs. This blessing thing, she doesn't seem to know how or even if she is doing anything either! Brainwashing. That's all there is to it!"

Brainwashing? Hakuno glanced over at the mute girl but the girl shook her head in response.

The village elder's face turned red. "You don't know anything boy! That girl is dangerous. There is a reason why we had to lock her up this whole time with a reason of her being special and being a 'priestess' and all that! That girl is not special at all. She's a monster in a human's body!"

Hakuno froze in place. "What…" she managed to get out.

She felt a small body hugging her and she looked down to see the mute girl clutching her tightly. Her eyes looked up at Hakuno sadly.

"Don't you EVER say that about her!"

Hakuno looked back into the room and saw that Shirou had a pair of black and white swords in his hands. The villagers in the room were backing up to get away from Shirou and his weapons.

"Magus," whispered the village elder. He was backing away slowly from Shirou. "I should not be surprised that you are one of _them._ "

"I'm leaving and I'm taking her with me," growled Shirou.

"Fine, take her. We will not be responsible for what happens to you otherwise." He grinned. "Hopefully she kills you as a result."

Hakuno cried out as Shirou's blades were up against the elder's throat a few moments later. She had never seen him look like that before. He looked so angry and she was scared he was going to actually kill the old man.

However it never came to that.

A loud popping sound came from behind her and the smell of burning wood began penetrating her nostrils. Hakuno turned to see the forest that surrounded the village was burning. "What…" She took a step in direction of the burning flames in shock. The fire was devouring the trees like nothing she had ever seen before (not like she had much to compare it to).

It was a good thing she did as the window behind her shattered and she lifted up her hands to protect her face from the flying glass.

"Hakuno!?"

She looked up to see Shirou standing there. Did he jump through the window?

The girl tugged on Hakuno's sleeve and pointed in the opposite direction of the fire.

"She's right. We need to go. I didn't think they would come so soon." He cursed. "I thought I would have twenty four hours at least." He grabbed her hand. "Come on Hakuno."

"Wha…wait!" she yelled as Shirou began leading her away. "What are you talking about? Who is out there! What are they after?"

Shirou gritted his teeth and looked down at the ground, at the approaching fire and back at her. "Those people are searching for you. We need to get you out of here."

Now Hakuno could hear voices coming from the direction of the fire. Yelling, angry voices. "Why are they searching for me?"

"There's no time for that. We need to go."

The mute girl pushed Hakuno's back.

"But I…"

"Hakuno. Trust me. You can't stay here. What they will do with you is worse than your life here."

"But the villagers…"Hakuno stared at the villagers pouring out of the house in a panic. Would they be fine? By the way the trees were burning and the yelling voices, she doubted not.

"Hakuno. You need to worry about yourself now!" Shirou's hands rested on her shoulders. "You need to live!"

The mute girl pushed against Hakuno's back.

She thought back to her life in the village. What good memories she did have here? Nothing really came to mind at all for her.

She bit her lip. "Okay."

"We need to move fast." Shirou bent down and swept her off her feet. "Hold on tight to me okay?"

"Kano."

Hakuno looked down at the mute girl in surprise. "What?" Did she really just speak?

The girl smiled at Hakuno. "Kano. Remember Kano." The girl turned and ran into the mass of people running around in a panic.

"Kano? Kano!" yelled Hakuno. "Shirou! We need to go after her!"

Shirou shook his head and began running in the opposite direction. "I'm sorry Hakuno but she made her choice."

Hakuno buried her face into Shirou's shoulder and tears pressed against her eyes. She knew that. "Kano…" she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"We should be fine for now." Shirou carefully put down Hakuno.

She looked past him to the burning village in the distance. Her insides felt hollow. "Why?" she whispered. She whirled around to face Shirou. "Why!?" She banged her hands against his chest in protest. "Why Shirou!? Why! Why is this happening!? Kano…she…she…"

"I'm sorry."

She looked up but Shirou would not meet her eyes. He just stood there and let her beat his chest with her fists. "Shirou, why? What did you mean they are after me?"

"They are after you because of the rumors of what you can-" Shirou looked behind them. He grabbed onto her and dove to the ground.

She yelped as her head hit a rock painfully. "Ow…" She looked up to see Shirou was already getting up, the shaft of an arrow buried in a tree where she had been standing moments before.

"Stay here and lie low," he murmured.

Her eyes widen and she reached out and clutched Shirou's sleeve. "N…No!" Her thoughts flashed back to Kano. "Shirou…please…"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just lie low here alright?" He gently pulled her hand away from him and held out his hands. The two swords he had summoned before appeared in them and he disappeared into the forest without another word.

"Shirou…" She looked around the dark forest. This place had once made her happy. She was happy exploring the area, finding out new things and learning about the world. Not now though. It frightened her. The shadows seemed to be taunting her. The light of the moon was hidden behind clouds. She felt like there were monsters watching her from the treetops. Their eyes were boring into her, laughing at her.

"Shirou…I'm scared…Shirou…" She got to her feet and pressed her back against the tree. Her eyes hurt as she tried to hold back tears. "Shirou…"

She could feel something else pressing against the back of her mind. Something was there, waiting to surface. She just had to let it out, and then everything would be fine.

The sound of something moving through the undergrowth made her look up. She stiffened and pressed her back against the tree. What would she do!? How could she defend herself?

Her body relaxed as Shirou appeared. "Shirou. Are you-"

"Come on." He gruffly grabbed her hand and began leading her away.

She winced but tried to keep up with his fast pace. "Shirou? What's wrong? What happened to the people chasing us?" She noticed that his red coat seemed darker than usual in the moonlight. She could feel a liquid on the hand he was holding onto tightly. "Is…is that blood?"

"It's mostly not mine," he replied curtly. He would glance left and right but he didn't stop moving.

"Mostly!?"

Shirou stumbled and he would have fallen if he didn't steady himself using a nearby tree. She let out a small cry as the light of the moon pierced through one of the clouds and lit up the area. Shirou was covered in blood. His side seemed to be covered in the most blood of all.

"Damn it," he murmured as he tried to keep walking.

"No, stop!" She put her heels into the ground. "Please Shirou. Stop! Don't! You…you're hurt."

Shirou grimaced as he sat down under the tree and pressed his back against it. "Damn it."

She had to do something! What could she do? Her mind tried to piece together all she learned in those books she read but nothing was coming to mind of what she could do right now. No, there had to be something she could do!

Blessing! She could give him a blessing!

She placed her hands in front of her and concentrated. "I bless you to be healed," she murmured. "You will be healed because I say it will be so." She opened her eyes. Nothing. Shirou's breath was still ragged, his injury still there. "N..no! I can do it! I can perform a blessing!"

"Enough Hakuno." He gently laid a hand on her head. "It won't work. Please don't keep trying."

"N…no! You can't! I…I'll save you! I know I can!" She looked around her. Herbs. She needed herbs! He would be fine!

"Hakuno. Stop." He made her look at him. "Listen to me. You need to keep running. There's a city nearby. Keep running until you get there." He pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to her. "Go to that address. Say I sent you. Tell her what happened here. She will help you."

"N…no! Don't talk like that!" She shook her head. "We…we're going to go together! You promised me. You promised to show me the city! You promised me to take me to the ocean! You can't just let me go by myself. That's…that's…" Tears were freely falling down her face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep those promises." He put the slip of paper in her hand and forced her hand to cover it. "You need to live. You need to see the world." He gently wiped away her tears. "Don't cry for me. Please. I'm not worth those tears." He smiled and Hakuno thought she could see the beginning of tears forming on his eyes. "I am happy to have met you even if I am not worthy for you."

She clutched his hand like a life line. "Shirou? Shirou!" However he ignored her pleas as his eyes slowed closed. "Shirou!?" She wrapped her arms around him as tears poured down her face.


End file.
